Back to School Cookies

This week, I tackled making some cookies for our wonderful teachers. Every year, the PTO throws the teachers a back-to-school luncheon. Here is my contribution to the event:

How fun is this box of crayons full of sugar cookies? Unfortunately, I had to drop and go so, I don't know how they were received. I hope they all liked it as much as I did making it. Thanks Hubby for making the box:-) You rock!

Blog Frog Friday 8-27-10

I am happy to have you all here for Blog Frog Friday: a weekly stop at my Blog Frog community:-)

Today, hop on over to my pad for a conversation about end of summer musts:-)

Tomatoes Galore

This is the first year that I have tried to can tomatoes (probably because this is the first year that I had tomatoes worth canning). I did 2 quarts and 6 pints!! Yahoo!!!


I have to be careful though...they are almost all gone and I haven't saved my seeds for next year yet!!

Pomodoro Sauce

I am doing more menu planning with I'm an Organizing Junkie and finding more deals at Pick N Save for $5 Dinners and putting them together with great recipes:-)

Last week before school start which means...one more week of summer vacation. All of our back-to-school shopping is done. We got new glasses. Now, we just need an appointment for a flu shot and a hair cut and we will be all set for school. Yahoo!!

Thank goodness Pick N Save is helping me out with my menu planning! They have boneless pork loin on sale for $1.99/lb. (normally $3.99/lb.) !! I bought a bunch and I am going to top them with Pomodor Sauce (check out the recipe below). It is going to be super cheap because instead of canned tomatoes, I used my fresh tomatoes from my garden. We are going to eat like kings for months with what I have going on out there!!

Here is everything that I am serving this week:

Monday: Spaghetti (Cleaning Day)

Tuesday: Pork Chops with Pomodoro Sauce (See recipe below)

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Chicken and Rice

Friday: Eat Out

Pomodoro Sauce
Ingredients:
5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for garnish later
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 tsp sugar
·Kosher salt or sea salt
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/2 cup basil, chiffionade
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Directions:
1. Begin by heating the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Sautee the diced onions if you're using them, until they're soft but not browned. Add the garlic (in slices or paste) and sauté carefully and briefly, don’t let it turn brown; if you're using red pepper flakes, you can add that pinch now too. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
2. This sauce can be covered with a lid wholly or partially as it does not need to reduce too much; if you're making a creamier sauce your ingredients are mostly in puree and paste form and will not need much reducing; if it's a chunkier sauce with diced tomatoes, onions and garlic, you might leave the lid off so it reduces a bit better as it may be slightly watery. You can also add a small can of tomato paste with the diced tomatoes, to absorb some of their water.

3. Cook approximately 30 - 60 minutes, until the sauce slightly thickens. Stir and check it occasionally. Add sugar and salt according to taste during the process. Don't over-salt it but make sure it's not bland either, a common problem of poorly-made sauces. Taste it! as you go along, don't guess! Cook it longer if it seems to need 'more taste', as the reduction and mixing of the ingredients progresses over more cooking time, as is true with almost all sauces.

Servings: 12
Yield: 2 quarts

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/12 of a recipe (7.7 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe's ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 195.9
Calories From Fat (29%) 56.56
% Daily Value
Total Fat 6.45g 10%
Saturated Fat 0.88g 4%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 271mg 11%
Potassium 805.05mg 23%
Total Carbohydrates 32.98g 11%
Fiber 5.03g 20%
Sugar 1.82g
Protein 6.57g 13%

Recipe Type
Italian, Sauce

Tips
Experiment with the tastes and consistencies of the tomatoes you use, since they are the most important ingredient; some chefs will mix fresh tomatoes in with canned tomato paste, some will try a can of tomatoes, mixed with fresh tomatoes, and add some tomato paste.

Experiment with different herbs and seasonings... though experiment carefully. You are usually safe to try adding small amounts of herbs that are generally known to be good in Italian red sauces... but first put the tiniest pinch of any herb on a spoonful of the sauce to see what you think, rather than dumping it straight into the main batch. If it seems to go well, you might try a pinch in with the sauce to begin with, and add more if you're liking the taste.

Common other additions include, to your taste: mushrooms of various kinds, colored bell peppers, hot peppers, and meats. Pomodoro sauce and pasta are especially famous and recommended to go with chicken, but other meats, seafood, and meatballs are used.

A secret ingredient of some chefs is to add a little cream to the sauce to make it... er... creamier.

Source
Web Page: http://www.pomodorosauce.com/

Recipe Cost: $4.32 ($1.32 with fresh tomatoes)
Serving Cost: $ .36 ($0.11 with fresh tomatoes)

Tax Credit Kitchen Day Dream

I was daydreaming this afternoon about a new kitchen. I guess I do that a lot because I remembered this too:

Before I met my husband, he gutted and rebuilt all three bedrooms. A couple years ago we got a new roof and a new car. Last year, we gutted and redid our bathrooms and windows and bought another new car. AND, we bought two new computers last year and one was for education! We hit all of the tax credits for this year, last year! We have done everything possible to improve our property and support the economy. With nothing to show for the improvements (except the improvements), we deserve a tax credit kitchen.

Now, we are half way there. Last year (last year was a rough one) got a new range, a new dishwasher and a new microwave. All we need now is a enclume pot racks and some new cabinets. That's all I am looking for:-) Do you think that I could get a tax credit for a
enclume pot racks ?

Now, hear me out...we have done everything right. We are putting money into our property to keep the values up. We have almost single-handedly maintained the economy and the auto industry (both cars are American) during this difficult time. We are being penalized on our timing for the other credits. The least the administration could do for us is get me a new bright and shiny enclume pot racks . That's all. Just a little thank you for our support:-) Is that too much to ask?

Blog Frog Friday 8-20-10

I am happy to have you all here for Blog Frog Friday: a weekly stop at my Blog Frog community:-)

Today, hop on over to my pad for a conversation about sticky situations:-)

Grape Jam

This is what I did yesterday:


9 jars and vines and vines to go...

Grilled Strawberry Short Cupcake

Monday, I competed in the Iron Cupcake: Milwaukee Tailgate Challenge. We were given the task of coming up with a cupcake that represents tailgating to you. Here is my submission:

Grilled Strawberry Short Cupcake

Grilled Sponge Cake

Dipped in Strawberry Syrup

Topped with Whipped Cream

Garnished with Fresh Strawberries and Mint

Since I just took my older daughter back to the University of Wisconsin: Madison, my presentation was all about Badgers. I love that you can see the arch of the Hoan Bridge behind us! It's a Milwaukee landmark that leads you to the neighborhood I grew up in so, I thought it was really fitting:-)

I didn't win but with a view like this, I didn't mind at all:

Blog Frog Friday 8-13-10

I am happy to have you all here for Blog Frog Friday: a weekly stop at my Blog Frog community:-)

Today, hop on over to my pad for a conversation about happy endings:-)

Hazy Shade of Summer

My camera lense was weeping in the heat this morning but out of pain comes beauty.

Presto Pesto

It's time to harvest the basil and I love it because that means pesto time:

I love it! It is good in pasta dishes, mixed with mayo on sandwiches and even as a topping for grilled fish. I found a recipe for some dessert pesto that I am dying to try. I will let you know how it turns out:-)

Blog Frog Friday 8-6-10

I am happy to have you all here for Blog Frog Friday: a weekly stop at my Blog Frog community:-)

I had a HUGE coffee accident earlier this week. You know the kind? You put in the filter. You put in the coffee grounds. You close up the pot, add the water and away you go. Right? Until you come back. Instead of that perfect cup of coffee, you have bean shrapnel and mucky water on your counter. Very frustrating!

You know what I need? I need one of those machines that use coffee pods . These things are brilliant!! Coffee grounds and filter all in one wrapped up little package. No mess!! Love it!

Another option is K cups . I have to admit I wasn't sure what these were but they look great too! Same idea as the coffee pods but in a single serving situation. I may have to wait until I am the only coffee drinker in the house again. Right now, my mom and my older daughter share my coffee and so, it wouldn't be practical now.

So that's my rant for this week but hop on over to my pad and tell me what is bugging you this week:-)

How Do You Like Me Now?

Remember the geraniums that I got in May? Well, check them out now:

I am so happy how they are growing:-)

Birthday Cake

Happy Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on SevEn cLoWn CirCus! Heck, I am even linking this up to Amy's Round Robin on Keeping Up with the Schultz Family on Friday.

We celebrated my oldest's 20th birthday last week and this is the cake I made:


This is a yellow cake with chocolate ganache filling and iced with chocolate buttercream. The cake is completed with marshmallow fondant and molding chocolate ribbon. It was delicious:-)